Canadian ride-hail service stops in Vancouver amid world record attempt

CTV News

a day ago

Ride-hailing company HOVR is attempting to break a Guinness World Record for longest rideshare journey ever taken.
A Canadian ride-hail company is hoping to launch its business with a bang with an attempt to break the Guinness World Record for the longest rideshare trip ever taken.
Launched in Toronto last year, HOVR is a ridesharing service that says it separates itself from already existing companies by offering a membership model, instead of a commission-based model, where drivers retain 100 per cent of their fares.
'It is about time that we had a national platform,' said the company's CEO Harrison Amit during the trip's stop in Vancouver on Friday, day five of the cross-country journey.
The trip, dubbed Connecting Canada, will span 28 days and will see Amit join HOVR's CMO Christian Alicpala in checking off various points across the country as it travels from the east coast to the west and then back again.
After getting underway in Toronto July 13 and checking off Vancouver over the course of the weekend, the journey will continue onwards to St John's before finishing up in Toronto by August 9. The drive will be tracked in real time on the HOVR platform and via an independent GPS for Guinness verification, Amit said.
The record for the longest continuous rideshare journey is believed to be held by Mr. Beast, a YouTube celebrity who travelled 2,256 miles (3,630 kilometres) from North Carolina to California in 2017.
Alongside smashing a world record, Amit says the 16,200-kilometre journey will provide an opportunity to meet the drivers, potential riders, stakeholders, and city officials in each city the company is looking to operate in, so they can get 'HOVR operations up and rolling as soon as possible.'
Amit said the initiative has had a 'ton of great support' in every province they've passed through so far.
'Everybody becomes a HOVR lover, it's amazing. The drivers love us. The riders love us,' he said.
'We were just speaking to a few people here in Stanley Park and they mentioned that they can't wait for HOVR to begin their operations here.'